New player here!

[maskedmelon]

Make liberal use of charm and other solo play style cc tactics while in groups and you should not have much trouble flying solo. Practicing in groups provides a safety net while providing the group with better dps and an all around better chanter. Welcome and best of luck.

I should add that cha gear is relatively inexpensive and should be your priority stat as it affects efficacy of lull/mez style spells as well as duration of charms. A deep mana pool does much of nothing for a chanter, especially once you obtain ToT.